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What would 10 year old you think of your collection?

I saw this question posted a few years ago on another board. thought it would be fun to see the answers here.

as for little 10 year old me? I think first of all, he would be shocked that i am still collecting cards after all these years!

he would then be wondering where all of my greg jeffries, mike greenwell, ruben sierra, eric anthony, todd zeille, ben mcdonald, kevin mass, todd van popple etc. cards are. they were supposed to be huge cards!!

he would be wondering who in the world Tom Brady is and why do i have so many of his cards.

he would be glad that i have completed so many HOF player runs from the 60s-70's.

10 year old me would also be frantically searching the house for the latest issue of Beckett. or at least sports card trader or tuff stuff. how in the world is he supposed to price out cards???

i am sure 10 year old me would have lots of other hobby questions as well, but these are the ones just off the top of my head

what about you?

George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.

Comments

  • waxman2745waxman2745 Posts: 896 ✭✭✭

    10-year-old me would wonder where all of my hair went and how I got so big :D

    I think 10-year-old me would be shocked to find out just how many of the junk wax era cards actually exist.

    Also, 10-year-old me would learn the hard way about putting cards in top loaders with no sleeves. I have many cards with dinged corners as a result.

    I was obsessed with late 80s and early 90s Donruss as a kid. I loved the jet black fronts and bright yellow backs of the 1985 and 1987 sets. I guess it makes sense now that my favorite set as an adult is 1971 OPC, with the jet black fronts and bright yellow backs.

    Adam
    buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball cards
    also collecting US & Canadian silver coins
  • jayhawkejayhawke Posts: 1,335 ✭✭✭

    10 year old me would wonder why I collect OPC, Topps on demand cards, and odd ball cards. Where are all the Schmidt rookies you wanted to buy? You still collect cards? Where did you get more than $20 to buy cards?

    Did someone marry you and they knew you collect cards? Did the Phillies ever win another WS? Then the 10 year old me would spend a lot of time going through my cards, and be excited that we still collect, and ask me lots of questions.

  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,655 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 12, 2026 10:12PM

    Good question David.

    I'd ask: "what the hell were you thinking?" "SLU's?" "Stacks of guys no one has ever heard of?"

    "Guess you didn't get the memo on focus and budget?"

    Mike
  • I would ask what the 1979 Bump Willis Texas Ranger card is worth. When the first price guide came out it was worth 6.00 dollars. By far the most valuable card for at least 10 years prior. I was a millionaire and just had to wait some time.

  • ElMagoStrikeZoneElMagoStrikeZone Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Heh. I collected cards, of course. But, 10 year old me WANTED to be a player. I'd had great summer of Little League the year I turned 10. League MVP for a team that sucked. And another good season after that. Then, it all stopped. I never got to play ball at school. So, 10 year old me would ask now: Why aren't you on a card? What happened? And what's with all these boxes?

  • DarinDarin Posts: 7,589 ✭✭✭✭✭

    10 year old me circa 1974 would wonder why I don’t sort all my cards by team, tightly wrap a rubber band around each team, throw them in a shoebox, and also whenever I open a few packs why I don’t obsessively recount how many cards of each team I now have even though I have that info written on a piece of paper and I am capable of simple math. 🥳

  • PaulMaulPaulMaul Posts: 4,992 ✭✭✭✭✭

    10 year old me would feel sorry that current me has a much harder time just enjoying cards because of being consumed with their condition.

  • Chicago1976Chicago1976 Posts: 733 ✭✭✭✭✭

    He would be thrilled I finally completed the 1976 Topps set (to include all the Cubs!). 10 year old me spent most of the summer on that. He'd also be impressed with all the vintage in my collection and curious about grading. Then I would get him up to speed on the future, to include the Cubs 2016 season.

  • craig44craig44 Posts: 12,692 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Great point about professional grading!! didnt think of that.

    10 year old me would have zero clue. I would have probably been interested though. Even then I liked better conditioned cards.

    I also think 10 year old me would have liked the ease of paypal/ebay. I vividly remember my mom writing out checks for me to send to advertisers in baseball card magazine because she said i shouldnt send cash in an envelope!

    George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.

  • junkwaxgemsjunkwaxgems Posts: 283 ✭✭✭

    10 year old me would be floored by my collection today because it is all devoted to cards that he couldn't imagine owning then. Everything I actually collect fits in between 1989 and 2001 with the bulk being 1990-1995. I was extremely present in the hobby during those years and never had any money or access to the cards I'd salivate over in Beckett or card shop cases.

    My collection would blow the minds of the 10-18 year old mes. The hard part would be explaining that sadly, none of it is worth much and that Billy Ashley, Phil Plantier and Brien Taylor didn't make it into the hall.

    fka jacksoncoupage, comc.com: junkwaxgems, ebay: junkwaxgems
  • waxman2745waxman2745 Posts: 896 ✭✭✭

    @craig44 said:
    I vividly remember my mom writing out checks for me to send to advertisers in baseball card magazine because she said i shouldnt send cash in an envelope!

    My mom would phone in the order for me and use her credit card, as long as I had the cash up front to give her so that she could pay her credit card back. Good times!

    Adam
    buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball cards
    also collecting US & Canadian silver coins
  • RobbyRobby Posts: 679 ✭✭✭

    10 year old me would probably reconsider the future trade I made
    in 1964 ........My #50 Mickey Mantle for two common St. Louis
    Cardinal cards with my best friend ! I was not a Mantle fan .......Musial
    was my idol !

    Collect 1964 Topps Baseball
    1963 Fleer
    Lou Brock Master Set
  • handymanhandyman Posts: 5,616 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 10, 2026 11:40AM

    You are dumb. Why have you not opened all of the packs yet???!!! Id then explain its really hard to grade vintage now. :)

  • craig44craig44 Posts: 12,692 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @handyman

    wow, that is just a peek at what looks like an amazing collection!!

    George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.

  • Mookie1986Mookie1986 Posts: 92 ✭✭✭

    Where's the Gretzky rookie card that I wax pack pulled at 9 years old? I sold it in 1986, along with all my football, basketball, hockey and baseball doubles to a Long Island card shop for $75. Honestly, one of the biggest regrets of my life

  • I don't know about 10 year old me but 13 year old me would wonder why the heck it took 55 years to complete a 1964 Topps baseball set.

  • tulsaboytulsaboy Posts: 320 ✭✭✭

    @NJ80sBBC said:
    Is this heaven?? It’s must be.

    When can we start ripping packs?!?!?! What the heck is a grocery rack box? Why are there all of these packaging types? And why are all of these boxes wrapped by a card shop in the middle of Indiana?!

    And can we pick up the latest Current Card Prices monthly?

    John

    Man, change that magazine to "Baseball Card Magazine" and you've captured my 10 year old self perfectly.
    kevin

  • hyperchipper09hyperchipper09 Posts: 1,470 ✭✭✭✭✭

    10 year old me would not have been impressed: "cards? where are the comics and action figures?"

  • mintonlyplsmintonlypls Posts: 2,741 ✭✭✭✭✭

    10 year old...I want an I-Phone, not baseball cards!

    mint_only_pls
  • NJ80sBBCNJ80sBBC Posts: 827 ✭✭✭✭

    10yo me would also be floored that I built a card room bigger than his mom and dads bedroom. 10yo me would think old man him turned out pretty cool.

    Note: he would also want to know what happened to his Transformer and D&D book collection. And his diamond back bike. But I think the cards would offset the disappointment in those losses.

    John

    Conundrum - Loving my unopened baseball card collection....but really like ripping too
  • mrmoparmrmopar Posts: 1,108 ✭✭✭✭

    10 year old me was 1 year into discovering baseball cards in 1979. 10 YO me now would likely be blown away by what this lifelong hobby has meant to current me and what I have amassed in the last 45+ years. He'd be happy to see that I still have my original copy of The Great American Baseball Card Flipping Trading & Bubblegum Book, which I may have obtained originally that year through Scholastic, and have acquired many of the cards pictured in the book, along with some early favorites that he only dreamed of owning.

    I collect Steve Garvey, Dodgers and signed cards. Collector since 1978.
  • athleticsfanathleticsfan Posts: 263 ✭✭✭

    10-year-old me oddly loved the smell of vintage cards and would be very surprised and confused as to why my best cards were sealed inside of plastic.

    #SelltheTeam #Fisherout #OaklandsTeam #JoeLacob

    A's World Championships-1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1989
  • 1951WheatiesPremium1951WheatiesPremium Posts: 6,560 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?

    https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest

  • UFFDAHUFFDAH Posts: 2,709 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @NJ80sBBC said:
    Is this heaven?? It’s must be.

    When can we start ripping packs?!?!?! What the heck is a grocery rack box? Why are there all of these packaging types? And why are all of these boxes wrapped by a card shop in the middle of Indiana?!

    And can we pick up the latest Current Card Prices monthly?

    John

    Oh my gosh ripping. Oh my gosh.

  • UFFDAHUFFDAH Posts: 2,709 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 13, 2026 8:29AM

    Meanwhile......

  • mcolney1mcolney1 Posts: 996 ✭✭✭

    Shocked that there was a third series of '72 topps fb
    Graded cards?????
    HOFers are always desirable to own in any era

    Collecting Topps, Philadelphia and Kellogg's from 1964-1989
  • threeofsixthreeofsix Posts: 706 ✭✭✭✭
    edited February 25, 2026 5:30AM

    I would have immediately:

    a) found a way to clip some of my graded slabs to the spokes of my bike… and thought the sounds they made were really cool!!!

    b) scaled some slabs against a brick wall with my classmates at recess, and lost most of them to the other kids’ leaners.

    c) traded all the graded sports cards for any non-graded Red Sox players.

    and

    d) wondered where all my ungraded Lost In Space cards went?

    The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.
    Live long, and prosper.
  • emaremar Posts: 710 ✭✭✭✭
    edited March 7, 2026 10:58AM

    Me 1983: How can you afford the '68 Nolan RC...its book price is $650!! Is that near mint or mint??? Did you screw it down real tight in a bullet-proof holder???
    Me 2026: Well, I figured it might be a good investment; ya know, like buying stocks. It's in a PSA holder
    1983: ???????

  • saucywombatsaucywombat Posts: 1,227 ✭✭✭

    1986 for me

    Likely floored that I had an entire 1986 Topps set in one of those official Topps binders.

    It wouldn't be until 1989 that it would even occur to me that they had value. Wish I could still get $5 a piece for Jim Abbott in his Michigan uniform.

    Always looking for 1993-1999 Baseball Finest Refractors and1994 Football Finest Refractors.
    saucywombat@hotmail.com
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